Posts for Ticker ‘RIG’

Top Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades (BIIB, FRX, GENZ, GILD, HOLX, LVS, MOS, NVAX, RIG, TXT)

These are the top ten analyst research initiations, upgrades, and downgrades we have seen from top Wall Street firms early this Wednesday morning:

Biogen-Idec (BIIB) Started as Underperform at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Forest Labs (FRX) Cut to Hold at Needham.
Genzyme (GENZ) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Gilead (GILD) Started as Buy at BofA/Merrill Lynch.
Hologic (HOLX) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) Raised to Buy at Argus.
Mosaic (MOS) Started as Sector Perform at CIBC.
Novavax (NVAX) Cut to Market Perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
Transocean (RIG) Started as Outperform at BMO Capital.
Textron (TXT) Raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: September 2, 2009 – 8:21 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Goldman Sachs Mixes Calls in Oil and Utilities (RIG, PTEN, HAL, OIS, NBR, DO, FTI, WR, NRG, NVE)

Oil Well ImageGoldman Sachs has made several key upgrades and downgrades this morning in the utility sector and in the oil patch.  While the utility sector was raised to attractive, some of the other calls seem more mixed on the surface in the oil patch.

Transocean (NYSE: RIG) was one of the few real upgrades as shares were raised to Buy from Neutral.  Patterson-UTI (NASDAQ: PTEN) and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) were cut to Neutral, while Oil States International (NYSE: OIS) was cut to Sell.  Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR) was cut to Sell from Neutral.  Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO) and FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI) were both upgraded, but only to Neutral from Sell.

Westar Energy (NYSE: WR) and NRG Energy (NYSE: NRG) were both raised to Buy, while NV Energy (NYSE: NVE) was cut to Neutral.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2009

Posted on: June 25, 2009 – 7:22 am in Analyst Calls, Oil & Gas, Utilities, , , , , , , , , ,

T. Boone Pickens & BP Updated Stock Holdings (ANR, APC, COG, CHK, CNX, DVN, FLR, FWLT, HAL, MEE, OXY, STR, SLB, SU, RIG, WFT)

Pickens PicThis morning we got to see the new equity holdings of T. Boone Pickens, via his BP Capital Management, L.P.,  as of March 31, 2009.  Some of the higher stakes look to be in Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE: SU), and Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG).  Here is the full list of holdings for Pickens’ BP Capital with the implied value as of the reporting dat of March 31:

Posted on: May 15, 2009 – 11:37 am in Activist Investor, Insider Activity, Mutual Funds, Oil & Gas, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Transocean Profits Sink, Yet Surprise (RIG, DO)

offshore-rig-picThe world’s largest offshore driller, Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG), reported first quarter 2009 EPS of $2.93 on net income of $942 million and revenue of $3.12 billion. In the first quarter of 2008, Transocean reported EPS of $3.58 and revenues of $3.11 billion. Analysts had been expecting EPS for the first quarter of $3.51 on $3.10 billion in revenue.
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Posted on: May 6, 2009 – 8:28 am in Earnings, Oil & Gas,

Citi Maintains a ‘Buy’ Rating on Transocean (RIG), Adds to Top Picks Live List

Citi maintains a ‘Buy’ rating on Transocean Inc (NYSE: RIG), adds to Top Picks Live list with a $98 price target, citing several positive trends in the offshore drilling including capacity constraints which are driving increases in day rates.

Citi analyst says, “Our revised energy price forecast calls for a barrel of WTI crude oil to average $47 in 2009, $55 in 2010, $60 in 2011, and $65 in 2012. Under this price progression, which is consistent with the forward curve in oil futures, the deepwater drilling play is underpinned by solid economic returns on investment. We expect deepwater drilling to remain the highest growth market in oil services…”

Read more…

Posted on: March 11, 2009 – 8:44 am in Uncategorized,

Top 10 Analyst Upgrades & Downgrades (AMZN, BBY, KO, GENZ, HAL, IPI, RIG, AFL, PBR, VE)

These are some of the top pre-market early bird analyst upgrades and downgrades from Wall Street this Monday morning:

  • Amazon.com (AMZN) Raised to Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • Best Buy (BBY) Raised to Outperform at William Blair.
  • Coca-Cola (KO) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Genzyme (GENZ) Raised to Buy at Deutsche Bank.
  • Halliburton (HAL) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
  • Intrepid Potash (IPI) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
  • Transocean (RIG) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
  • AFLAC (AFL) Cut to Sell at UBS.
  • Petrobras (PBR) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Veolia Environment SA (VE) Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

JON C. OGG

Posted on: March 9, 2009 – 6:42 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (CHK, CMCSA, HPQ, SNY, SSS, RIG, WFMI)

money-stack-pic4These are some of the top early bird analyst upgrades seen from Wall Street analysts this Thursday morning:

  • Chesapeake (CHK) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Comcast (CMCSA) Raised to Buy at Collins Stewart.
  • H-P (HPQ) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
  • Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Sovran Self Storage (SSS) Raised to Perform at Oppenheimer.
  • Transocean (RIG) Raised to Outperform at Bernstein.
  • Whole Foods (WFMI) Raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Jon C. Ogg
February 19, 2009

Posted on: February 19, 2009 – 7:39 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , ,

Transocean Misses the Mark (RIG, DO, SLB)

oil-well-image1Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG) followed in the footsteps of competitors Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO) and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), reporting fourth quarter and full-year results that missed expectations. Transocean announced net income for the quarter of $800 million (EPS of $2.50) on revenue of $3.27 billion. Analysts had expected EPS of $3.70 on revenue of $3.29 billion.
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Posted on: February 17, 2009 – 10:02 am in Earnings, Oil & Gas, , ,

Diamond Offshore Misses (DO, RIG)

Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE:DO) reported fourth quarter EPS of $2.11 on revenue of $903.2 million. Analysts had been expecting EPS of $2.34 on revenue of $912.42 million. For the full year, Diamond earned EPS of $9.43 on revenue of $3.5 billion, missing estimates of EPS of $9.71 and revenue of $3.55 billion.

Dayrates and utilization are either essentially flat or up from a year ago and up sequentially. The company gave no 2009 guidance.  Diamond opened lower this morning and is down about 3%. It’s also dragging Transocean Ltd (NYSE:RIG) down with it. Transocean is off about 1.5% on no news.

Paul Ausick
February 5, 2009

Posted on: February 5, 2009 – 10:23 am in Earnings, Oil & Gas, ,

Analysts Downgrading Oil Patch (NOV, PDE, REP, SII, STO, SU, RIG)

Burning_money_pic_2Oil_well_imageIt is probably no huge shock that downgrades are coming more than upgrades now that oil has come down so much.  Too bad these were not the calls several months ago.  Here are some of the downgrades this Wednesday in the oil patch:

  • National Oilwell Varco (NYSE: NOV) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Pride International (NYSE: PDE) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
  • Repsol SA (NYSE: REP) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
  • Smith International (NYSE: SII) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Statoil (NYSE: STO) Cut to Neutral at UBS.
  • Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) Cut to Sector Perform at RBC.
  • Transocean (NYSE: RIG) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.

Jon C. Ogg
January 14, 2009

Posted on: January 14, 2009 – 7:56 am in Analyst Calls, Oil & Gas, , , , , , ,

Drillers Report Operations Blues (BAS, RIG)

Oil_well_image_2Oil field services company Basic Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE:BAS) reported this morning that December 2008 operations were even lower than expected. Drilling rig utilization reached just 66% in December, down from 83% in November and down 88% from December 2007. The company had projected quarterly declines of 4-6% in revenues for the fourth quarter, but is now expecting a revenue shortfall of 11% for the quarter. Basic is lowering its rates and reducing capital spending, choosing to focus "controlling expenses and preserving liquidity."  Basic may have trouble finding customers, but Transocean, Inc. (NYSE:RIG) is firing its customers.

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Posted on: January 13, 2009 – 1:47 pm in Oil & Gas, ,

Coal for Christmas: Stocks on 52-Week Lows (APL, KDE, HNSN, IPCM, LUFK, SYNA, THO, TRAC, RIG)

It almost never matter what the markets do anymore.  Some stocks just can’t get it right.  Most of these lows that we chose to outline did not even have real news out themselves today.  We decided to include the closing bell levels.

  • DJIA          8,468.48 (+48.99; +0.58%)
  • NASDAQ   1,524.90 (+3.36; +0.22%)
  • S&P500     868.15 (+4.99; +0.58%)

Here are some of today’s 52-week low stocks and brief comments:

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Posted on: December 24, 2008 – 4:05 pm in HI/LOW, Trading Alert, , , , , , , , ,

The 52-Week Low Club (CHK)(WFT)(RIG)(MSCC)(ISIL)

Sad_clownChesapeake Energy (CHK) National gas supply levels fall. Drops to $11.54 from 52-week high of $74.

Weatherford International (WFT) Oil prices hurting drilling equipment firms. Plunges to $8.32 from 52-week high of $49.98.

Transocean (RIG) Another drilling service firm. Sells down to $46.06 from 52-week high of $163.

Microsemi Corporation (MSCC) Did CEO lie about his degree. Dips to $11.27 from 52-week $28.50.

Intersil (ISIL) Cuts outlook. Moves off to $7.53 from $29.84.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted on: December 4, 2008 – 3:59 pm in HI/LOW, , , , ,

Transocean’s Move to Switzerland Pays Off for Note Holders (RIG)

Transocean_logoThe world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, Transocean (NYSE:RIG) is moving its incorporation location from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland. Pending final approvals, the move will be effective on December 18th.

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Posted on: November 18, 2008 – 9:01 am in Bonds, Oil & Gas,

Foster Wheeler, Transocean: Revenues Up, So Are Costs (FWLT, RIG)

Oil_well_logo_2Before market open this morning, major oilfield services players Foster Wheeler Ltd (NYSE:FWLT) and Transocean Inc. (NYSE:RIG) reported third quarter earnings. The short version is both missed EPS estimates, while surpassing revenue expectations.

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Posted on: November 5, 2008 – 10:04 am in Earnings, Oil & Gas, ,

Transocean Taking Taxes To Switzerland From Cayman (RIG)

Transocean_logoTransocean Inc. (NYSE:RIG), one of the world’s largest offshore drilling companies, is proposing to move its incorporation location from the Cayman Islands to Switzerland. To make the move, the company needs approval from the Cayman courts and stockholders. Transocean expects to receive both and to make the move in late 2008 or early 2009.

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Posted on: October 10, 2008 – 10:59 am in Oil & Gas, Shareholder Issues,

Short Selling Very Mixed In Oil Companies (BHI, CVX, XOM, HES, MRO, SLB, HAL, NOV, RIG, VLO)

As you will see below, there were many key changes to short sales in oil stocks.  Some of these would have been expected to have gone up because oil was so weak.  But there were many surprising gains as well.  Here are the mid-September short sale numbers:

COMPANY (TICKER)                      Sep 15       Aug 29     Change
Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI)              6,133,690    6,061,556     1.19%
Chevron Corporation (CVX)           22,795,662   20,202,281    12.84%
Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)    31,416,108   29,473,462    6.59%
Hess Corporation (HES)               4,447,432    4,382,553     1.48%
Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO)   7,261,748    5,969,911     21.64%
Schlumberger N.V. (SLB)            14,953,601   13,375,004    11.80%

COMPANY (TICKER)                      Sep 15       Aug 29      Change
Halliburton Company (HAL)          30,099,107   38,571,133   -21.96%
National Oilwell Varco (NOV)        7,514,971    7,778,930     -3.39%
Transocean Inc (RIG)                  13,948,428   14,367,494    -2.92%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO)          14,846,937   15,028,560    -1.21%

Jon C. Ogg
September 25, 2008

Posted on: September 25, 2008 – 7:44 am in Oil & Gas, Short Interest, , , , , , , , , ,

Top Pre-Market Analyst Upgrades (CTRP, GS, LEH, MRVL, NLC, NUVA, PRU, RF, RIG, USG, ZION)

These are some of the top early bird analyst upgrades and positive calls we are seeing this Monday morning with more than two hours to the open:

  • Ctrip.com (CTRP) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
  • Goldman Sachs (GS) Raised to Buy at Merrill Lynch.
  • Lehman Brothers (LEH) Raised to Neutral at Merrill Lynch.
  • Marvell Tech (MRVL) Raised to Outperform at Morgan Keegan.
  • Nalco Holding (NLC) Raised to Neutral (from Sell) at Goldman Sachs.
  • NuVasive (NUVA) Started as Buy at Piper Jaffray.
  • Prudential Financial (PRU) Raised to Outperform at FBR.
  • Regions Financial (RF) Raised To Market Perform at FBR.
  • Transocean (RIG) Raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
  • USG (USG) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
  • Zions Bancorp (ZION) Raised to Outperform at FBR.

Jon C. Ogg
September 8, 2008

Posted on: September 8, 2008 – 6:31 am in Analyst Calls, , , , , , , , , , ,

Will Gustav Raise or Lower Crude Prices? (XOM, RIG, RDS, COP, CVX)

Tx00338coilwellgusherodessatexasp_2Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 forced a halt to about 25% of US oil and natural gas production. Now Tropical Storm Gustav, which is predicted to gain hurricane status by the weekend, is drawing a bead on Gulf of Mexico production facilities and crude oil prices are beginning to rise as companies shut down operations and evacuate workers.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) has not yet begun to evacuate workers from its offshore platforms, but has begun planning a staged evacuation as Gustav gets closer. Transocean (NYSE:RIG) has already brought about 400 workers ashore and plans to move its remaining eight semi-submersibles, with 1,500 more employees on board, out of harm’s way. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A/RDS.B) has already evacuated 750 workers from Gulf platforms and plans to withdraw the rest today. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) has already shut-in its only Gulf platform, and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) has begun evacuating workers for some of its platforms. Plans are also being made to close down the 57 onshore refineries along the Gulf coasts of Texas and Louisiana.

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Posted on: August 29, 2008 – 11:19 am in Oil & Gas, , , , ,

Oil Services Better Insulated Than Most Energy Sub-Sectors (RIG, DVR, PDS, WFT, NOV, BJS, BHI, BAS, HAL, SLB, SII)

Oil_well_logo_2_2Oil Services are deemed by many market pundits as being more insulated than integrated oils, refiners, and other sub-sectors of the energy sector for oil and gas.  While these frequently move in-line with oil prices and with the sector, they are expected to have much more stable earnings than counterparts elsewhere in the sector.  Many of the oilfield services shares are down nearly 20% or more along with a major drop in oil prices. Transocean’s shares are holding at less than 1% down from 52-week highs, probably on the strength of the company’s bookings.

Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) has given back nearly one-quarter of its value from its highs.  The worst performer among the larger players was CalDive (NYSE:DVR), down 43% from its 52-week high. Precision Drilling Trust (NYSE:PDS) is down about 30%, Weatherford (NYSE:WFT) is off about 27%, and National Oilwell Varco (NYSE:NOV) and BJ Services (NYSE:BJS) are down about 25%. A host of others are off around 20%: Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) at 22%; Basic Services (NYSE:BAS) at 21%; Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) at 20%; and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) and Smith International (NYSE:SII) are off about 19%.

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Posted on: August 20, 2008 – 11:17 am in Oil & Gas, , , , , , , , , , ,